


How Dense Can You Be?

by WolvenStorm



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Also Kindaichi can cook, Awkward Kissing, But Kunimi's used to it, First Kiss, Friendship, How Do I Tag, I'm sorry kunimi's a bit ooc, Jealousy, Kindaichi is so oblivious, Kunimi loves his caramels and Kindaichi loves his Kunimi, Like seriously he's the worst, Love Confessions, M/M, Miscommunication, Rated T for swearing, Sleepovers, no beta we die like sir nighteye, this ship is so underrated i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29466894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolvenStorm/pseuds/WolvenStorm
Summary: “Have I ever told you that I’m in love with someone?” Kunimi’s quiet voice broke the comfortable silence that had come up between them, soft and worn with lack of sleep.Kindaichi turned his head quickly to look at his best friend. Had he heard him right? “Wha…?”“I’m in love with someone,” the younger teen repeated with a yawn.Alternatively titled: Kunimi is a salted caramel gremlin and I like to point out the similarities between Kageyama and Kindaichi
Relationships: Kindaichi Yuutarou & Kunimi Akira, Kindaichi Yuutarou/Kunimi Akira, mentioned Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	How Dense Can You Be?

**Author's Note:**

> Haha, I actually wrote this for Valentine's Day. Yes, I know it's a day late, but shshhshshsh, just take the rarepair and leave me alone.
> 
> Kunimi's a bit OOC, not gonna lie, but he just ate a bag of caramels and stayed up five hours past his bedtime. I have an excuse.

“And then, the coin fell out of Matsukawa-san’s sleeve, and everyone just kind of… stared at it as it hit the ground.” Kindaichi shifted his arm around slightly so that it was directly under his head, keeping his gaze fixed forwards on his best friend as he spoke.

The end of his story was rewarded with a giggle from Kunimi. “Oh my god,” he whispered. “That’s such a lame magic trick, did he actually think it’d work?”

Kindaichi shrugged as best as he could in the weird position he was in. “I dunno, apparently so.”

Both their faces were stretched into unreasonable happy expressions; Kindaichi was grinning like a maniac, and Kunimi wore a rare, small smile. If it was the middle of the day and they were both fully rested, neither of them would have laughed at that stupid story, but it was the middle of the night, and the two high schoolers found themselves cracking up at the most random, idiotic things.

They were having a sleepover at Kindaichi’s house, something that they did from time to time. The energy levels of these get-togethers changed every occasion, but tonight it was especially high, and they were smiling at each other like middle schoolers.

“So how much did he have to pay?” Kunimi asked quietly, reaching for another salted caramel from the bag settled into the space between their futons.

Kindaichi watched the other teen carefully unwrap the candy before popping it into his mouth. How many of those had he had by now? At least three quarters of the bag, and Kindaichi himself had only eaten about five. It was a huge bag. They really needed to work on Kunimi’s salted caramel addiction.

“I mean, only 1000 yen, but it was still really funny, cause him and Hanamaki-san were so confident. You should’ve seen Oikawa-san’s face when he won the bet.”

“Wait, what?” Kunimi mock-gasped around the candy in his mouth. “Oikawa-san has the ability to look even more smug?”

Kindaichi grinned. “You say that like you haven’t seen it before.”

His friend shrugged in ambiguous agreement. “I mean, that’s really stupid though. Who even bets on a magic trick, anyways?”

They shared a dry look.

“Our senpais, apparently,” Kindaichi spoke for both of them, and they started cracking up again. It was the dumbest thing to laugh about, but it was 1:52 AM in the morning and they had blown through almost a whole bag of salted caramel, so everything appeared a heck of a lot funnier.

Kunimi burrowed his face into his pillow to recover from the laughing fit, and Kindaichi used the opportunity to look over at his best friend appreciatively.

The younger boy was usually so quiet and reserved, putting minimum effort into everything and choosing not to share what was on his mind. When it was just him and Kindaichi, he was more open and at ease, but the only time he truly let his guard down was times like these, late at night, drunk on sugar and too little sleep. Just the two of them, in a dark room, talking about the most random stuff or the most serious.

It was nice, and Kindaichi always felt like the luckiest person in the world when it happened. He liked to savor these moments, and remind himself of them whenever he felt like Kunimi was distant or upset with him.

His friend rolled out of his pillow and turned to face him again, the smile still on his face as he reached for yet another caramel.

Kindaichi eyed the candy as Kunimi brought it back up to his face and popped it into his mouth. “You... you really shouldn’t be eating so many of those, you know,” he advised. “You’re gonna make yourself sick.”

Kunimi snorted in response. “Sick, my ass. They’re good.”

“But not good for you.”

“Ehhhh…” The younger teen hissed and rolled over when he realized he didn’t have an argument for that. “I don’t really care.”

“There’s the Kunimi we all know and love,” Kindaichi joked, reached over to poke his friend in the side. As he retracted his hand, he tried to take the bag of salted caramels, too, and tuck them safely under his own pillow.

Kunimi’s head snapped around and, with whip-like speed, he reached out and snatched the bag back from Kindaichi. He hugged it close to his chest and let out an unearthly hissing noise.

“Okay, okay!” Kindaichi yelped. “Fine, keep them! Die an early death and see if I care! I’m just trying to help you, ya know!”

His friend just narrowed his eyes and reached into the candy bag again. “So you say.”

Kindaichi groaned and flipped onto his back, running a hand through his (currently down) hair in frustration. The crunching noise of caramel filled his ears, and he could have sworn that Kunimi was doing it on purpose.

The conversation moved away from bad eating habits and back to volleyball, prompting Kindaichi to jump enthusiastically into a story about Yahaba and Kyoutani showing up to the most recent practice that Kunimi had missed in each other’s jerseys.

Over the next half hour, the mood slowed down a little, and 2:24 AM found the two high schoolers curled up in their respective futons, a completely empty bag of salted caramels between them, eyelids heavy and minds sleepy.

But they kept talking, despite their exhaustion, wanting to drag out every single minute they had with each other. It was Sunday the next day, anyways, so it wasn’t like they couldn’t sleep in in the morning.

Kindaichi gazed at Kunimi through half-lidded eyes. _He really is beautiful_ , a voice in the back of his sleep-deprived mind supplied. It was a side of his brain that he liked to keep locked up, the side of his brain that would constantly analyse how Kunimi was reacting to different situations, or how bright his smile appeared, or how pretty his eyes were. It was a very annoying part of his brain, but the late hour of night seemed to bring it into the spotlight.

“Have I ever told you that I’m in love with someone?” Kunimi’s quiet voice broke the comfortable silence that had come up between them, soft and worn with lack of sleep.

Kindaichi turned his head quickly to look at his best friend. Had he heard him right? “Wha…?”

“I’m in love with someone,” the younger teen repeated with a yawn, obviously half out of it.

Kindaichi blinked, all traces of fatigue slipping from him with this confession. “I’m sorry. Y-you’re kidding, right?”

“Nah,” Kunimi responded, tone casual but sleep-addled. “I’m serious.”

Something in Kindaichi stopped working. His mind, which had only moments before been about to shut down, was now spinning around at top speed, trying to make sense of the situation. _What did Kunimi mean? And why was he telling him- why now? Was he so out of it that he had started lying, or was he so out of it that he had started telling the truth? And more importantly- if Kunimi was serious, who the hell was he talking about?_

“Y-you’re in love with someone,” Kindaichi choked out. “U-uh, who?” He stared at the ceiling as he waited for an answer, almost unable to see anything because of the dark but needing a place besides Kunimi to put his eyes.

“He’s the best,” his best friend said fondly, instead of a straight answer. “Doesn’t know it, though.”

 _Oh. So it was a guy._ Kindaichi wasn’t sure if that fact made him feel worse or better.

“Right.” He wasn’t sure about how to respond to something like that.

Luckily, he didn’t really need to, because Kunimi kept talking anyways, drunk on too little sleep and his passion for whoever he was talking about.

“People always think he’s really intimidating, y’know? Cause he scowls a lot. But really, he’s just a huge dork, and if you talk to him for even half a minute, you’ll know that.” Kunimi sighed and yawned again, but Kindaichi couldn’t see if he’d moved at all, keeping his eyes trained above him instead.

 _Intimidating, huh? But really a dork?_ Kindaichi racked his brain. Who did he know like that? Iwaizumi, maybe. Did Kunimi like Iwaizumi? There was no way. Right?

“And he has the dumbest black hair ever, but I still think it’s pretty, and I always wanna run my fingers through it.”

Kindaichi felt an awful, curling sensation in his stomach that seemed to twist around and choke him from the inside at the idea of Kunimi running his fingers through someone else’s hair. Who could possibly be that lucky?

Whoever it was, Kindaichi was positive that they didn’t deserve his best friend, or any hair-grooming services he may provide.

“And his eyes. His eyes are dark and pretty, and I feel like I could just stare into them forever.”

 _You can stare into my eyes forever_ , Kindaichi thought hopelessly. Who did he know that had ‘dark, pretty eyes’? A lot of people, actually. Real helpful indicator there.

Kunimi made a small humming noise. “He’s amazing at volleyball, too.”

 _Oh, so someone who plays volleyball._ That narrowed it down a bit.

“Do… do I know him?” Kindaichi asked tentatively, against his better judgement. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to know the answer.

Kunimi didn’t seem to notice the tension in his question, a sign that he was truly out of it. Normally, he was annoyingly observant, and picked up on every slight change in his best friend’s mood.  
He seemed to think a second before answering. “Yeah, I’d say you know him pretty well.” Then he started giggling, as if it was some funny inside joke with himself.

Kindaichi’s throat went dry. Pretty well?

He closed his eyes, not that it changed much, because he couldn’t really see anything anyways.

Stupid, black hair. Intimidating scowl that didn’t mean anything. Pretty, dark eyes. Someone who Kindaichi knew pretty well, and played volleyball.

A face swam to the forefront of his mind, one that he associated with bitterness and betrayal, one that he tried to forget about and move passed.

Kageyama Tobio.

Kindaichi instantly felt like he was going to be sick. Did Kunimi like Kageyama? Love him, even? The person they used to sit with at lunch and joke around with in between classes and walk to volleyball practice with. The person they’d gone to the coach and complained about. The person who was now Karasuno’s setter and their opponent.

Who was apparently creeping back into both of their lives in the form of Kunimi’s crush.

Kindaichi swallowed back any tears or signs of emotion that he might have wanted to show and listened to Kunimi continue, realizing he’d zoned out a little bit.

“...and really dense, too. No, seriously. I could probably walk up to him and confess, and he'd just think I was complimenting him or something.” Kunimi rolled his eyes at this, and burrowed farther into his futon.

Kindaichi swallowed dryly. That sounded exactly like Kageyama. It was so obvious now, he couldn’t believe he’d overlooked it earlier.

“Besides,” his best friend continued mercilessly. “I… I wouldn’t want to ruin our friendship, in case my feelings were unreciprocated.”

Ouch, that one stung. Kindaichi hadn’t known that Kunimi and Kageyama had gotten close again, which just made him wonder about what else he hadn’t been informed of.

Kunimi gave another yawn, prompting Kindaichi to risk a small glance over at the younger boy, and realize just how tired his best friend was. He looked almost asleep, curled up on his futon, eyes lidded and staring sleepily at Kindaichi. He was about to pass out, he’d bet anything.

Sure enough, barely a few moments later, Kunimi yawned again and shut his eyes. “Well, g’night,” he said abruptly, apparently unaware about the state he was leaving the other boy in.  
It took approximately seven seconds for him to fall asleep, and then the rhythmic breathing started, steady and quiet like a cat’s.

Kindaichi, on the other hand, had never felt further from sleep. He lay awake, staring straight up at the ceiling with his heart pounding.

Kunimi loved Kageyama.

He wasn’t sure how to take that, exactly.

He… he wasn’t stupid, really. He knew that he loved Kunimi, both platonically and romantically, but… But he’d always known that those feelings weren’t reciprocated and were never _going_ to be reciprocated, which is why he’d just tried to shut them down.

It hadn’t really worked, and now Kindaichi was left with a hollow, empty feeling in his chest.

Kindaichi loved Kunimi.

Kunimi loved Kageyama.

Maybe he’d feel less awful in the morning.

Kindaichi rolled over, facing the wall opposite his best friend and hoping that sleep would come for him soon.

It didn’t.

* * *

Kindaichi woke up first the next morning, after a surprisingly good nine hours of sleep.

He always woke up first at these sleepovers; Kunimi was known for sleeping in, especially if he’d gone to bed later than his usual 9:00 PM. He required at least eleven hours of sleep to function properly.

Needless to say, Kunimi never got those eleven hours, and never functioned properly.

The night before, Kindaichi had tossed and turned for at least half an hour before finally going to sleep. Half an hour didn’t sound like a long time, but it turned into a long time when the only thing he could think about was what Kunimi had said.

Yeah, he’d definitely thought about it way too much, and it had probably worked itself into his dreams, too. He couldn’t remember.

Kindaichi slapped himself on the face, trying to snap out of it, and crept down the stairs to the kitchen. As he passed Kunimi, he’d silenced his footsteps so as to not wake him up, then closed the bedroom door as he left. He tried not to look at his best friend’s sleeping face, at how peaceful and carefree he looked, but it was a hard battle to fight, and he’d inevitably lost.

As he entered the kitchen, Kindaichi noticed a note on the counter. He picked it up and read it quickly, not at all surprised by what it said:

**Gone doing errands. Be back in a few hours. Remember to feed yourselves.**

Kindaichi couldn’t help but smile a bit. He loved Kunimi’s parents, and after he’d met them the first time, it was easy to see where their son had gotten his different traits. He looked like a carbon copy of his father, but had his mother’s temperament and eye color.

He recognized the handwriting as belonging to Kunimi’s father, and assumed that he was the one who had gone. His mother, on the other hand, was probably still sleeping, recovering from working long hours the night before.

**Remember to feed yourselves.**

Kindaichi grinned and moved towards the fridge. Since he was almost always the first one up, the responsibility of making breakfast also almost always fell onto him. Not that he minded. He liked cooking, and wasn’t too bad at it.

Plus, it was gratifying to know that Kunimi was actually eating well.

His smile faded at the thought. He wondered if someday, maybe, it would be Kageyama, or even just another random person, making breakfast for Kunimi in the morning. Instead of him.

The idea almost took away his appetite again, but he quickly shoved it down and grabbed the eggs.

He tried not to think too much as he started cooking, using the simple tasks at hand as distractions to fill his mind and replace any feelings of misplaced jealousy or sadness.

Just as he’d finished preparing two bowls of rice, natto, and eggs, Kindaichi heard a pair of soft footsteps padding down the stairs. He wiped his hands on the kitchen towel and turned to face the newcomer.

“Morning!” Kindaichi greeted with fake cheerfulness as Kunimi entered the room, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing sweatpants and a slightly too large sweatshirt, with slightly messy hair that showed he had just woken up. It was a familiar sight to Kindaichi, but he still felt his heart ache a little bit.

Kunimi yawned in response, slipping into one of the seats at the counter. He seemed much more in control of himself than the night before, and gave Kindaichi a tired glare when he slipped the bowl of food across the counter towards him.

“Eat up,” the older teen ordered, shoving a pair of chopsticks into his friend’s hands, too.

Too exhausted to argue (or maybe it was just too early in the morning), Kunimi accepted the utensils, muttered a quiet and somewhat ambiguous ‘thank you’, and started eating. Kindaichi grabbed his own chopsticks and joined him on the other side of the counter, pulling out a chair.

They ate in slightly awkward silence for the next few minutes. Part of Kindaichi wanted to bring up what Kunimi had said the night before, but the other part of him wanted to forget it ever happened, in the hopes that that would make it less real. Still, he kept casting side glances at his best friend, still trying to process the fact that he liked Kageyama.

Eventually, they finished eating, and both got up to do the dishes.

“Okay,” Kunimi spoke at last, when they’d finished. He turned to face Kindaichi, wearing a mildly concerned expression. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Kindaichi blinked, taken aback. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re acting weird,” his best friend said bluntly.

Kindaichi couldn’t help but sigh internally. Kunimi was back to normal, meaning that he also now had his impeccable observational skills. Of _course_ he had noticed that something was wrong.

“It’s nothing,” he lied, trying to smile reassuringly.

It didn’t work, judging from Kunimi’s flat expression.

“Seriously!” he protested, but his best friend didn’t waver.

“What’s wrong?” Kunimi pressed. “Did you sleep well enough? Did something happen last night?”

Kindaichi stiffened. “I’m fine,” he said again. “Really, I’m just... tired.”

Kunimi narrowed his eyes, obviously not fooled. “What happened?” He asked again. He stared at the older boy for a solid few seconds, before seeming to realize or remember something. “Oh. Oh. Shit.”

“Huh?” Kindaichi prompted eloquently.

“Last night. Shit. I- Oh, shit.” Kunimi closed his eyes and grabbed the sides of his head, pulling on his hair. The memories flooding back into his mind were practically visible. “Do you remember all of that? Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

Kindaichi felt something inside of him break at the words. Sure, it had been painful to hear, but he didn’t want to see his best friend torn up over it. He walked forwards and pulled Kunimi’s hands away from his head. “Hey, hey, it’s fine. I didn’t really mind.”

The other teen flinched. “I should’ve known you’d react like this. I’m so sorry, it was late and I was half out of it, I… um, I wasn’t serious?” His statement wavered at the end, tilting into a question, obviously trying to come up with an excuse that would erase the events of the night before.

“Hey, dude,” Kindaichi said softly, swallowing the lump in his throat. “It- it’s fine. I’m sorry I was weird about it. I was just surprised, that’s all. You… You can talk about Kageyama to me all you want, okay? I’m your best friend and you can tell me anything, I’ll try to control my reactions.”

Kunimi opened his eyes, seeming to take in the words. He stared up at Kindaichi with tired brown irises and an unreadable expression. “Did you say… Kageyama?”

Kindaichi blinked. “Um, yeah?”

“What the hell does he have to do with anything?” Kunimi didn’t seem nervous anymore, just confused.

Was he being serious? Kageyama had to do with everything.

“Last night, you said you…” Kindaichi choked a bit. “Uh, you loved him. Remember? Which- which is totally fine! It just took me a bit by surprise, cause I didn’t think you were that close to him anymore, and- okay, no, why are you laughing-”

Kunimi kept snickering, either oblivious or just apathetic to Kindaichi’s struggle. “Oh my god, Kindaichi.”

“What?!” The older boy blinked in bewilderment. “What’s so funny?”

“I wasn’t talking about Kageyama, you idiot.”

Kindaichi felt something clear in his chest. Not Kageyama? But... but then, who else? “But-” He started. “But then, who-?”

Kunimi rolled his eyes. He seemed a lot more confident than he had a minute before, and it definitely made Kindaichi nervous. He stepped closer, staring up straight into his eyes, and Kindaichi just knew that his face was bright red. He’d always been an easy blusher.

“How dense can you be?” Kunimi muttered. His friend’s face was incredibly close now, and Kindaichi thought distantly that maybe they should start calling him Tomato Face instead of Onion Head.

“D-dense?” He repeated, too flustered to form proper words.

“I was talking about you, dumbass.”

Kindaichi blinked. Once. Twice. And then again. Which was about how long it took for the statement to fully sink into his brain.

Oh.

_Oh._

Kunimi had been talking about him. Not Kageyama, or some other random person. Him.

Everything suddenly made a lot more sense.

Everything his best friend had confessed the night before… it was all about him.

“Wait, so you-” Kindaichi swallowed, hardly daring to say the words. “You… love me?”

A light blush rose across Kunimi’s face, which was quite a feat; he was not flustered easily. “Obviously,” he muttered. “Took you long enough.” The nervousness came back to his expression, and Kindaichi felt him start to back up. “Is- is that okay?”

Kindaichi realized suddenly how anxious the other teen must be, and a genuinely reassuring smile came to his mouth. “It’s more than okay,” he assured. “In fact, it’s kind of awesome, cause I love you too.”

Kunimi relaxed considerably, and shed a small, awkward smile. A rare sight, on his face. “Uh, in that case…” he stuttered. “Um, can I kiss you?”

The bright red returned to Kindaichi’s face as he nodded silently. Kunimi put his hands on the other boy’s shoulders and leaned in, up a few inches.

The kiss was short and awkward, what with them both being inexperienced first years, and also best friends. Kissing your best friend was very, very awkward the first time, no matter how much you liked them.

Kunimi pulled away, and Kindaichi was pleasantly surprised to see his face painted red. He knew his own face was even worse, though.

He wasn’t quite sure what to do, so he pulled in Kunimi for a hug, just wanting to feel his warmth and be happy for a little bit.

Kunimi hummed into his shoulder, and they stood like that for a few moments, in comfortable silence.

“Hey, Kindaichi?” Kunimi asked as they pulled away.

“Mhm?” He acknowledged, leaning against the kitchen counter.

His best friend did the same, staring up at him with those dull brown eyes he loved so much. “Of all the people in the world, Kageyama? Really? You do realize I haven’t talked to him since the training camp, right?”

Kindaichi flushed again, switching his gaze to the floor. “It... It made the most sense,” He babbled. _And I was too oblivious to think you’d ever want me._

Kunimi made a soft groaning noise, covering his eyes with his left hand. After all these years, he was very familiar with Kindaichi’s density, but it still never failed to astound him. “Fucking dumbass,” he muttered affectionately. “What a fucking dumbass.”

**Author's Note:**

> Take a shot every time I say 'best friend', heheh.
> 
> Just kidding. Please don't. But seriously, I overused it a lot and am just now realizing.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Kudos are much appreciated, and I am as addicted to comments as Kunimi is to caramels, please feed me. If you want.


End file.
